Major Windows 10 'Redstone' updates tipped for 2016

Major Windows 10 'Redstone' updates tipped for 2016

The final version of Windows 10 isnít even available yet, but talk of what comes next is already popping up. Microsoft reportedly has two major updates to Windows 10 slated for 2016 that will parallel the release schedule for Windows 10 this year.

Codenamed "Redstone"óa nod to Minecraft, which Microsoft now ownsóthe two updates will show up around June and October of 2016, accordingon reports by Neowinís Brad Sams and ZDNetís Mary Jo Foley. Sams and Foley are both well-known Microsoft watchers with a strong track record for leaks based on information from sources inside the company.

Itís unknown at this point what specific features the Redstone updates will be packing. Thatís because Redstone will include features that donít make it into the final version of Windows 10, which is slated to launch this summer. Foley reports, however, that Redstone will also include ďsupport for new classes of devices that arenít already part of Windows 10.Ē

Sounds as though MS is back peddling Windows 10 and taking the Windows 8 route. The bean counters are winning on the left coast, and 'forcing' a too early release of what should be the flagship Windows release. The major update of Redstone follows the pattern major release of Windows 8.1 - ship it to get it out and THEN fix it.

This doesn't bode well. Microsoft should bite the lost sales bullet for the campus crowd and make Windows 10 complete (whatever feature set is decided) and completely functional when it is released, IMO. That would move RTM out to October.

In reality there will probably be a major 2nd wave of Windows 10 RTM, followed by two more major waves codenamed RedStone and LapisLuzuli in 2016. MS said that they want to do away with the question of What version/release are you running? but that's going to be hard to make a reality - it will still be a question, but the answer will be longer II'm running Windows 10 Redstone s16 or Windows 10 LapisLuzuli a16 (a16 - is that august 2016 or is that autumn 2016?) People will still refer to them as SP2 / SP3 just as they are with Windows 8.1s14 (8.1n14). s=Spring, n=November-technically not an actual reference, but it helps to know if someone applied the November rollup (and there was one in December too I think, not major) - sheesh, another name for a incremental update.

Sure it messes with your head trying to relate it to previous MS 'standards' (Windows 7 is 6.1 and 8.1 is 6.3 - go figure ... Server numbers NT are worse - there are four NT versions but the matched the first to Windows 3.1, so the 4th version is 6.2 - that makes sense too - Right?)

The lesson on Windows 8 seems to have been lost on too many at MS. I suppose it's difficult to change a company's culture as Satya Nadella has intoned, even if you are CEO.

My take is that there are plenty of bugs to fix - some cosmetic, many operational. Soooo what will RTM have in it? Depends on who wins - if the Summer date stands - lots of bugs and promises to fix, not a whole lot of new features (because they couldn't fix them in time).

If the cooler heads prevail, then some new features will be in RTM and they will work (for the most part - there are always bugs in every code)

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I would not have expected any differently. An OS is a living thing and grows all the time - in function, in quality and in performance (sometimes negative growth). I am afraid that they will be rushing the first RTM and get hit with quality problems like Vista.

It is obvious that MS panics in the face of the relative success of W8/8.1 which I think is halted in the tracks for the same reason that W10 will have to fight. A reliability problem on top of that would be suicidal.

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